This is a question that comes up in my EBiz Workshops all the time. EBiz owners want to know if they should be working with an accountant when it comes to money questions related to their businesses, or if they should just wing it based on info they find online.

I’ve been in business for decades, and I can tell you that my businesses DO use an accountant for specific tax and financial questions.

Accountants are not exactly cheap, but they’re not as pricey as the lawyers that you might need to get yourself out of trouble if you DON’T use one for those questions.

However: keep in mind that accountants are not the best people to rely on for decisions that affect the DIRECTION of your business. If you want to know what forms to file and when, great! Ask an accountant. If you want to know whether or not you should partner with a certain company, or go down one business path or the other, DON’T.

We had this discussion in my Private Forum recently. Accountants will always give you the SAFE answer. They’ll always err very much on the side of caution. Answers to business issues are never black and white. They are always written in shades of gray. As a business owner, YOU need to make decisions regarding which directions to go in business. You need to be willing and able to take risks…that’s what being an Entrepreneur is all about.

An accountant will virtually never advise any kind of risk. They need to protect their CPA license at all costs, so any advice they ever give you will be extremely conservative.

Again, for specific tax and financial questions, yes. An accountant that you can talk to once in a while is a good idea.

When you’re trying to make decisions that will affect the course of your business, you can CONSULT with one on the NUMBERS, but don’t let your accountant’s conservative approach back you down from taking the occasional risk that IS Entrepreneurship.

This article has been provided by Chris Malta's blog. Find more great information about your online business on Chris's site. HERE.